Dixie Reimer

I serve as the Science Instructional Specialist with North Thurston Public Schools. I have 26 years of experience in North Thurston Public Schools as a middle school science teacher at Nisqually, Chinook and Komachin Middle Schools. I have served as the districts secondary science instructional specialist since 2008. I love the opportunity to support and work with teachers of all levels on engaging their students in inquiry and field-based based science. I graduated from Whitworth College with a Bachelors in Biology and Psychology and have a Masters Degree from St. Martins University in Curriculum and Instruction. I am National Board Certified in Early Adolescent Science.

My responsibilities include coaching and mentoring science teachers, professional development, science curriculum development and alignment to the Washington State K-12 Science Standards, and our district transition into the Next Generation Science Standards.

Carrie Ziegler

Art is an incredible tool for change. It penetrates deeply inside of the viewer, encouraging them to ask questions they may otherwise avoid. My artwork strives to bring issues of Environmental and Social Justice and personal development to the front of the viewer’s experience. Whether I am working on a large-scale participatory art installation, a public mural, or am in my studio creating with various materials, my work revolves around these subjects. To affect positive change through art is my quest.

In my work, the subject matter drives the medium. When working on a project about plastics in the ocean, up-cycled plastic is the obvious choice. When working to beautify a bike trail in an industrial zone, paint transforms a graffiti-filled wall into something magical. What links my work is the inclusion of many people in the creation and the goal of engaging viewers and inspiring them to make a positive change in their own lives.

My recent projects have included hundreds of people in their creation, allowing for a project that is much larger and wider of scope than any I could do alone. These projects give ownership to all involved, and inspire the viewer through the story of their creation. There are countless layers woven into the pieces, compelling the viewer to delve deeper, if they so choose.

For example, when people view the suspended installation, Rise Above Plastics: The Butterfly Effect, they are first mesmerized by hundreds of butterflies gently spinning and reflecting the light. When they notice that together, the butterflies form a human figure, emerging from a chrysalis, with butterflies of change flying from her heart, they are overcome with awe. When they hear the story of how the piece was made of up-cycled plastic trash, by 700 children and young adults, as a message of hope and inspiration, of personal choice and empowerment, they are mobilized to ask questions and look at their own actions and how they are personally affecting the world.

Providing education and outreach to the community about natural resources management and Thurston CD services

Promoting Thurston CD at community events and conferences

Creating educational materials

Maintaining the Thurston CD Facebook, Twitter, and website

President of Mount2Sound Adventures

Representative on the Washington State Envirothon Committee.

Sarah graduated from The Evergreen State College in 2011 with a Bachelors in Environmental Science, focusing in Natural Resources Science Education. She has additional skills in outreach, marketing, event coordination, educational material development, and water quality monitoring.

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John Hayes

John Hayes is the Director of the Mount Rainier Institute. John started leading the effort to establish Mount Rainier Institute in 2012. Before coming to western Washington, John was the Executive Director of another residential environmental learning center in partnership with the Nation al Park Service at Dunes Learning Center. He has worked in the Environmental Education field for over 20 years. He has taught and coordinated environmental education programs in Vermillion County Illinois, and for Indiana University’s Bradford Woods. John also worked at Teton Science Schools in Wyoming where he was part of their Graduate Faculty.

Mindy Roberts

Mindy Roberts is an environmental engineer with the Washington State Department of Ecology’s Environmental Assessment Program. She manages several large studies that analyze human impacts on Puget Sound as well as the region’s lakes and rivers. She has a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, an MS in Civil and Oceanographic Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Washington. She has over 20 years of experience working on complex scientific studies. Mindy is a registered professional engineer in the State of Washington and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Elisa Sparkman

Works as an Education and Outreach Specialist for Thurston County Public Health and Social Services Environmental Health Division. She offers presentations to school and community groups on toxics reduction, healthy homes, and more.

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Jennifer Whipple

Jennifer Whipple received her B.A. in Communications with a minor in Environmental Studies from Western Washington University in 2007. She then went on to earn an A.A.S. Degree in Fisheries Technology from Bellingham Technical College. She has been working as the Education and Outreach Coordinator for Taylor Shellfish Farms since April of 2008. In her current role she provides education on shellfish farming and water quality through classroom visits, presentations, field trips, tours of the Taylor Shellfish facilities and participation in many community events. She also plays an active role on the boards of the South Sound Estuary Association and the South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group.

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Aimee Christy

Aimee Christy is a research biologist at Pacific Shellfish Institute. She holds a B.S. from the University of Washington and an M.S. from The Evergreen State College. Her current research projects include nutrient bioextraction using blue mussels, harmful algal blooms, marine debris and microplastics, citizen monitoring, and water quality outreach for K-12 students and the community. Special interests include designing school programs that target Next Generation science standards and exploring alternative disposal practices for dog waste in urbanized environments.

Dianna Ullery

Dianna is the WSU Extension Coordinator for 4-H Youth Development in Thurston County as well as the State Coordinator for Washington 4-H International Exchange. As WSU 4-H staff she practices and teaches experiential learning, positive youth development, and youth-adult mentoring. Dianna has been an environmental educator and naturalist for several decades, and has degrees in Human Development and Outdoor Education.

Erica Baker

While this is my first year at Nisqually Middle School, I have been teaching either students or teachers for the past 18 years. Prior to joining Nisqually Middle School, I worked for Pacific Education Institute. I earned my undergraduate degree at Texas A&M University and have a master’s in Technology in Education from Lesley University. My past work experiences have given me the opportunity to travel the state and work with teachers and curriculum writers in the fields of Environmental Studies and STEM. This year, I look forward to combining Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) as my students work together to solve real-world problems!

Allyson Ruppenthal

Allyson wants to live in a world where people are empowered to make educated decision, equality is universal, and emails are brief.

She is an environmental professional and organizational leader with more than 15 years of experience. She’s been an environmental planner for the Washington State Department of Ecology, Washington State’s Deputy Director of Elections, a business manager for a brewery and winery, and is currently working for Thurston County Public Works as the Recycling and Waste Reduction Supervisor. When she is not at work fostering sustainability, you can find her baking pies, kayaking the Sound, and digging in her garden.

To learn more about Allyson’s current recycling, waste reduction, and sustainability work efforts, please visit ThurstonSolidWaste.org.

Erica Guttman

As an environmental educator since 1986, Erica has led WSU Thurston County Extension’s water resources efforts since 1997, providing classes for over 2,000 landowners and professionals annually. She has designed and installed numerous Green Stormwater projects and produced several publications and videos to support Green Stormwater/LID efforts by a variety of audiences. Her masters is in ecological restoration with a focus on the Salish Sea nearshore.

Tom Crawford

Tom Crawford is an educator, information systems designer and project manager who was also one of the founding members of Thurston Climate Action Team (TCAT) in 2008. He received his Masters of Education degree from Eastern Washington University, and his Bachelor of Arts from Gonzaga University. Currently retired, Tom’s career included curriculum design, training and technical assistance for Indian education projects in public schools throughout the Pacific Northwest, and consulting and training for information systems projects within state and local government and business organizations. He also worked with Puget Sound businesses to build awareness of the Natural Step approach to sustainability, and is trained in the Dialogue Education approach to adult learning. As a TCAT board member, Tom helped establish an innovative energy efficiency program, called Thurston Energy, in partnership with Thurston Economic Development Council. He also led the development of Thurston County’s first comprehensive greenhouse gas inventory, and worked with faculty from local higher education institutions to complete a survey of county residents on attitudes toward climate change and clean energy.

Jennifer Johnson

Works as an Education and Outreach Specialist for Thurston County Public Health and Social Services Environmental Health Division. She offers presentations and trainings to schools, community groups, and businesses on toxics reduction, healthy homes, septic systems, natural yard care, and more.

Jean MacGregor

Jean serves as a senior scholar at the Evergreen State College’s Washington Center and directs the Center’s “Curriculum for the Bioregion” Initiative. From 2000-2004, she co-directed (with Barbara Leigh Smith) the National Learning Communities Project, a Pew Charitable Trusts-funded initiative aimed at strengthening learning community programs and communities of practice nation-wide. In 1985, she was one of the founding directors (with Smith) of the Washington Center. In that capacity, she supported campuses in Washington and throughout the nation in launching curricular learning community initiatives and was centrally involved in the Center’s other projects, focusing on cultural pluralism and academic success for students of color, and mathematics and science reform.

She taught in the fields of biology and environmental studies, both solo and in interdisciplinary teams at Warren Wilson College in western North Carolina and at The Evergreen State College, and currently teaches Environmental Education in Evergreen’s Masters of Environmental Studies Program. She has been involved in several collaborative writing efforts: Learning Communities: Reforming Undergraduate Education (Jossey-Bass, 2004), Student Self-Evaluation: Fostering Reflective Learning (Jossey-Bass, 1993), and Strategies for Energizing Large Classes: From Small Groups to Learning Communities (Jossey-Bass, 2000). In 1998, Change magazine acknowledged the importance of the work with the learning community approach when it named me one of eleven “Agenda-Setters” among Change magazine’s eighty “past, present and future leaders of higher education.”

Bobbi Hudson

As Executive Director of the Pacific Shellfish Institute (PSI), Bobbi manages research studies and general operations of the Institute. Bobbi joined PSI in 2006 as a Research Biologist, contributing to applied research projects on the interactions of shellfish culture with the natural environment, organic pollutants, and disease and environmental stress. Her leadership role began with a multi-faceted project evaluating the benefits and costs of shellfish in Washington State, and a survey-based study of the economic contributions of the West Coast shellfish industry. In June 2013 Bobbi transitioned to Executive Director, but continues to serve as a scientist for PSI’s diverse portfolio of biological, oceanographic and social science research projects.

Bobbi Hudson holds a B.S. and a M.S. in Environmental Science from The Evergreen State College. Her primary research interests include valuation of ecosystem services, social and ecological carrying capacity, and intertidal ecology. Bobbi also specializes in evaluation of sustainable bivalve aquaculture production in near shore environments. Prior to joining PSI, Bobbi served as a fisheries technician with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and performed shellfish and finfish work aboard commercial vessels in Puget Sound and SE Alaska. Bobbi also spent three years as a public information officer for the state of Washington.